Justice Sunil Gaur, who rejected Chidambaram's bail, tipped to head PMLA Appellate Tribunal
New Delhi, Aug 28: The government is believed to have appointed Justice Sunil Gaur, who had rejected the bail plea of former finance minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media case, as chairman of the PMLA Appellate Tribunal.
While no government notification or order appointing Gaur as chairman has been made public so far, sources in the know said the appointment has been cleared.
Once the formal order comes, he will replace Justice Manmohan Singh who joined as chairman on September 22, 2016 for a three-year term.
A finance ministry spokesperson did not take calls made to confirm the appointment.
Justice Gaur retired as a Delhi High Court judge on August 22, two days after he rejected Chidambaram's plea for anticipatory bail and said the former finance minister appeared to be the kingpin in the INX Media case.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson and Supreme Court lawyer Brijesh Kalappa said in a tweet, "Which is the only job in the world in which you get highest marks if you copy-paste the answer sheet provided to you? Judgeship BTW Heartfelt congratulations to Justice Sunil Gaur for his appointment as Chairman, Appelate PMLA within a week of his retirement."
In his order on August 20, Justice Gaur had dismissed Chidambaram's plea to grant him interim protection from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the INX Media case.
Justice Gaur has heard several high profile cases. He had also passed an order clearing the decks for the prosecution of top Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, in the National Herald case.
Justice Gaur was elevated to the Delhi High Court in April 2008. He was designated as a permanent judge in April 2012.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Appellate Tribunal comprises a chairman (who is or has been a Judge of the High Court or Supreme Court) and four members.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
